Chichi
by Melodylink
Summary: About four years after the Cell Games. Chichi is on the rampage, until Vegeta gets sick of it and decides to tell her something about Goku she hadnt realised before...


Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters therein. Like, duh **:P**

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Chichi

"BOYS! Come back here this INSTANT!"

The z senshi exchanged glances as four year old Goten along with Trunks fled out of the Son house ahead of an irate Chichi. 

Gohan groaned mentally. No doubt Chichi had once again caught Trunks teaching Goten how to fight, and the ensuing chaos was a predictable part of the event. The pair flashed past the rest of the group, disappearing from view long before Chichi came running out of the house, frying pan upraised. 

"I'll teach you! Little brats!" she yelled. Her momentum halted as she paused, looking about in search of the two young miscreants. The pair of troublemakers, although young, were not stupid and were nowhere in sight. Frustrated, Chichi rounded on the rest of the group. "Alright, which way did they go?"

Krillan stepped in front of the rest before anyone could answer. "I'll go get them if you like, Chichi. They're not far away." Krillan smiled reassuringly at the angry mother. Chichi wavered for a moment, obviously desirous of going after the two boys herself, but a loud shrill from the kettle in the kitchen forestalled her, and she nodded a grudging assent. Gohan caught Krillan's eye as he prepared to leave. He knew, as did everyone else there, that his brother and Trunks would have been punished severely if Chichi had gone in search of them. Krillan's quick thinking had mollified his mother. By the time he brought the two boys back, Chichi would hopefully have forgotten whatever it is that they did to rouse her all too touchy temper in the first place. Krillan nodded good naturedly at him and took off in pursuit of the kids.

The other members of the group exchanged glances among each other again. Chichi had been almost impossible to live with ever since the conclusion of the Cell Games over four years ago now, especially at this time of year which heralded her husbands death. They were at Chichi's house now for a get together, in hopes that company would take Chichi's mind off Goku, and privately to provide some relief for Gohan and Goten, who inevitably bore the brunt of Chichi's unreasonable anger. 

Gohan looked around at his friends gratefully. As much as he loved his mother, and understood what she was feeling, it could not be denied that this time of year was hard for him. Not only did Gohan have to put up with his own increased grief for the loss of a father he worshipped, but he was the one who had to deal mostly with his mother's vicious temper, and try and shield as much of it as possible from Goten, who was only four years old, after all. And this year, all of the strange group of people that made up his friends had come, perhaps sensing his need for company other than his mother. Bulma stood by the table on which a cloth was spread in preparation for the barbeque they were to have later on, chatting lightly with Yamcha while Puar hovered near his shoulder. Juuhachiguu stood nearby with baby Marron in her arms, waiting for Krillan to return. Master Roshi Vegeta stood on the edge of the clearing, far enough away form the others to make it clear that he wasn't part of the group, but still close enough to listen to what was going on. Right now, Gohan was amused to see his gaze resting unwaveringly on Bulma and Yamcha. Gohan had overheard Bulma telling him explicitly not to make a scene with Yamcha today, and to make up for it Vegeta was watching the pair like a hawk, obviously ready to wipe the floor with Yamcha if he so much as breathed in the wrong way. 

Gohan felt a hand on his shoulder as he surveyed the small group, and looked up to see Piccolo standing behind him. Gohan smiled up at the green Namek and was rewarded with a tiny twitch of his mouth in return, which in Piccolo did duty for a smile. Gohan opened his mouth and was about to say something to his mentor, when Chichi walked out the door again carrying a huge bowl of rice. She staggered slightly, and Gohan appeared at her side to take the bowl from her. She smiled at him, and turned to the table, only to have her expression change dramatically. She advanced upon the pair who were talking by the table. Bulma was leaning against it now with her back to Chichi, oblivious of the approaching woman. Bulma continued to chat lightly with Yamcha until she was shoved from behind to stumble into Yamcha, who thrust his arms out hurriedly to catch her. 

Everyone turned to look at Chichi, who was once again boiling with rage. 

"I told you before Bulma, never EVER lean on my table! I don't know how you act when you are in your own home with all your own servants, but here I expected you to respect the rules of my house. Obviously now I see that was too much for you."

Bulma pushed herself up and turned around to face Chichi, obviously trying hard to maintain her cool. "There was no need to push me, Chichi. If you had a problem all you had to do was come over and ask me to move. I am sorry for leaning on the table. I forgot, that's all."

Oh yes," sneered Chichi. "You forgot. Its hard to remember simple courtesy when you have been spoilt all your life, isn't it?" 

Bulma took a step forward, her eyes flashing dangerously. Gohan cringed inwardly. Of all the people Chichi could have chosen to pick on, Bulma was the worst possible candidate. And she _hated _to be called spoilt_._

"Just because you are in a bad mood, Chichi, don't take it out on me," she said, breathing deeply to control her temper. "I said I was sorry. Just let it go. Let me help you with lunch, I'm sure its almost time to eat." Bulma turned and made as if to go inside, when Chichi's voice arrested her in her steps.

"What do you mean, take it out on you? If you ever had to go through what I am going through then it would teach you to be a little more considerate of other peoples feelings!" Chichi pointed out in the vague direction that Goten and Trunks had gone. "Its _your _fault your little monster is teaching my precious boy how to fight. Soon he'll get into a battle and _die_ and it will all be your fault!"

Bulma swung round again, her blue eyes ablaze. "That's it," she said. "Don't you dare say anything about the way I raise my own child. I've just about had enough of you feeling sorry for yourself and taking it out on everyone else. You talk about being thoughtful of other peoples feelings, well you should just take some of your own advice! Maybe that's why Goku chose to leave you – because you are too damn annoying!"

Chichi's face went white, then red, and she screamed in inarticulate rage, raising her hand to punch Bulma squarely in the face. Bulma recoiled in fear, and Gohan and Yamcha stepped forward to intervene, but Chichi's punch was caught before it landed. Chichi looked up to see Vegeta, his face impassive as ever, but anger evident in his eyes. He held her hand there for a moment as they stood in a motionless tableau, then with a shove he pushed her backwards, sending her stumbling a few steps before she regained her momentum. Vegeta glared at her with anger and disgust in his eyes. No one moved for a moment save Chichi, who straightened her clothes which had been thrown into disarray by her sudden fall. She stood straight, and glared at Vegeta. 

Suddenly Vegeta took a quick step forward. Chichi recoiled but before she could step back again, he was in front of her, close enough so that she could smell him. To her surprise, Vegeta smelled just like Goku – the same faint odour of sweat and soap and some indefinable spice that always lingered around him. She stood stock still, scared now, but still trying to maintain her anger. He suddenly thrust out a hand, and Chichi thought he was about to hit her. Instead, he took hold of her chin, forcing her face up until the side of her neck was exposed. Chichi heard Gohan take a step forward, ready to stop Vegeta. Vegeta ignored him, and searched her neck, his fingers finding a tiny scar on her skin, just at the juncture of her shoulder and neck. His fingers rested lightly on it for a second, and his mouth twisted in a smirk, as if he had just confirmed something to himself. Roughly, he let her go, sending her stumbling, as he recrossed his arms, regaining his usual posture. His eyes still bored into hers, and she was startled to see the anger in them, laced with the edges a distant pain. After glaring at her for a moment, he spoke, his voice low and intense. "How dare you stand there with _his_ mark on your neck and pity _yourself_."

Chichi looked up at him, the anger in her eyes replaced with puzzlement. She lifted her hand to the scar Vegeta had found on her neck, tracing the same spot with her own fingers. What did he mean by Goku's mark? 

"I…I don't understand-"

Vegeta broke in angrily. "Don't you dare stand there and try and pretend you don't know what that means."

"But I don't know what you mean," said Chichi desperately. "What is so special about a little scar on my neck?"

The Saiyan no Ouji looked at her with hard eyes. "Are you saying that you don't know what that scar is?"

"That's exactly what I am saying, if you would just let me get a sentence in here edgewise!" said Chichi, irritated. 

The silence grew as Vegeta stared at her, searching her eyes for some hint that she was lying. After a moment, however, he obviously realised that she really didn't have any idea of what he was talking about. He grunted in surprise, his anger subsiding a fraction, but Chichi could still see it smoldering in his eyes. "Fine," he said. "Since Kakarotto didn't inform you of it, I guess its my duty to tell you. Then you might have a little more respect for your baka of a mate" He gestured to her neck. 

"Goku bit you there, didn't he?" It wasn't really a question. Chichi blushed, embarrassed to have her private life brought up in front of all her friends. 

"Well?" asked Vegeta impatiently.

"Yes," she mumbled, looking at the ground. 

"When a sayian bonds with his mate, he bites her on the neck. This creates a physical connection, as well as a mental one. This connection is irreversible, and will last until both are dead. Sayians do not mate lightly, because it is for life."

Chichi saw Bulma fidget out of the corner of her eye, her hand creeping up her neck to brush a point on her shoulder underneath her blue hair. Vegeta, however, didn't take his eyes off Chichi. 

"I still don't understand," she said bravely. "So what if it is for life. Goku's _dead_. That effectively relieves him of his part of the bargain. It's me that has to carry on, while he's having fun in the Otherworld."

Vegeta's eyes flashed in anger, but he controlled it with obvious difficulty. "You still don't get it, do you?" he snapped. "Kakarotto must be in incredible pain right now, to be this far from you. "

"What?" gasped Chichi, confused. "I don't under-"

Vegeta spoke slowly, as if he were talking to a mentally retarded child. "I said, that the bond is more than mental, it is physical as well. Because Kakarotto is a Sayian, and has mated with you, for the rest of his existence, he will feel pain proportional to his distance to you. You have heard the phrase, To be as far away as the Otherworld, well," Vegeta shook his head, but Chichi could have sworn that there was a look of admiration in his eyes. "The pain must be nearly crippling."

Chichi's mouth was open as her mind tried to understand what Vegeta was saying. Why would Goku be in pain just because he was far away? He had never said anything about being in pain before. To be sure, when he came back to life after he was killed the first time, he had seemed reluctant to leave her side. 

__

They had been in the kitchen, her bustling around as she fixed him a mea while he sat patiently at the tablel, when he suddenly stood and come up to her from behind, encircling her waist gently with his arms, and burying his head in her hair. She had started in surprise, for he didn't usually display affection openly to her. Goku knew that she was uncomfortable with what she considered private and special performed where everyone could see. However, there was no one in the kitchen besides them, and she indulged herself by leaning back into his embrace. 

"I missed you," mumbled Goku into her hair. "So much."

"I missed you too," she said, tears threatening to overflow in her eyes. 

"I never want to be that far away from you again," he said simply. "Never."

"Really?" she had said, turning in his arms, and looking up at him. 

"Never," he said smiling down at her. "It hurts too much." He bent down and made as if to kiss her, when the timer on the oven went off. Chichi broke from the embrace instantly and bent over the stove, opening the door and pulling out the casserole she had made for Goku. Any disappointment Goku might have had about their broken moment vanished at the sight of food. 

"Alright!" he exclaimed. "I'm so hungry." He smiled up that unforgettable trademark smile at her.

"You're the best, Chich'."

Chichi had dismissed the conversation at the time, thinking he was merely being sweet. Indeed, Goku's promise of never leaving her had been more than one source of anger in the last four years, but now his words came back to her with a new importance. What if Vegeta was right, and it Goku had been telling her the simple truth – that because they were mates, or whatever, it actually caused him physical pain to be away from her. Then, if that was true, Goku might have been serious when he told the others of the reasons behind his decision to stay in the Otherworld, and he was not just gallivanting around up there. Chichi looked at Vegeta suspiciously.

"How do I know what your saying is true?"

Vegeta's eyes burned. "I am the Prince of Sayians. I know what I am talking about." Barely perceptibly, his eyes flicked once at Bulma, then back to Chichi, and she could see the pain in them now clearer than ever before. "Believe me."

Chichi faltered under that steady gaze, and suddenly felt ashamed of herself. She turned away from Vegeta and stepped in front of Bulma instead, her face repentant. 

"I am so sorry Bulma," she said, "for what I did just then. I was wrong to say such things, and it was petty of me to take out my bad temper on you."

Bulma hugged her friend impulsively. "That's okay, Chichi. I didn't mean what I said either. We all know how hard this time of year is for you. I should have been more patient."

Chichi drew back and smiled apologetically at the rest of the group. "Lunch will be ready directly."

Gohan, who had been holding the huge bowl of rice all this time, took advantage of the break in tension to put it down on the table. He took the lid off it, and as if by magic, Trunks and Goten appeared beside the table. Both smiled up hopefully at Chichi, and she relented, and ladled out a huge serving for each of them by way of apology. 

Later, after they had all left and her house was back to normal, her mind returned to what Vegeta had said. She looked across at Goten, who was so much like his father it made her heart ache sometimes. He was in a corner of the clearing, surreptitiously practicing the fighting moves Trunks had taught him. 

Goten punched the air and jumped up to kick an imaginary opponent, when he felt a shadow fall across him. Guiltily, he looked up to see his mother standing over him. Goten cringed, waiting for the usual storm of protest, but to his surprise, she merely leant over and adjusted his hand. "You have to keep the thumb outside of your fist," she said calmly. "Otherwise when you punch someone for real, you will break your own thumb."

Goten gaped at her, and she smiled at him in a sad way before walking off. He stood there, mouth open for more than a minute, then with a big smile returned to his practice with renewed vigour, making sure to keep his thumb outside of his fist. 

Chichi sighed to herself as she walked back to the house. Maybe she was wrong in trying to keep Goten from his legacy as a fighter. Surely if her beloved Goku could put up with pain from being away form her for the sake of the world, then she could put up with a little in order to train Goten to be the defender of mankind she knew his father wished him to be. 

And then, maybe someday, Goku would come back to her.

Someday…

That's it! ^_^ Please review. This is just a little bit of a thing that was lingering in my mind for a while, so I decided to write it out. If anyone can think of a better title I would be massively grateful. My imagination just gave out when I tried to think of one, so I just went with 'the simple thing in life are often the best'. Please tell me what you think! If you don't, I'll go away and cry. *sniffs* Please don't let me down!


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